This House resolution calls on the Senate to remove the name of Richard B. Russell from the Russell Senate Office Building. It asks the Senate to revert to the building's original name, the Old Senate Office Building, until the Senate finds a suitable honoree. The resolution lists actions and statements by Senator Richard B. Russell that it says show opposition to civil rights, and it rejects white nationalism and white supremacy. The text also notes that the Senate voted in 1972 (99-1) to name the Old Senate Office Building for Russell.
The resolution is a formal request from the House asking the Senate to take action. The House resolution itself does not change the building name. The resolution was introduced on August 8, 2025, by Representatives Al Green and André Carson and was referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. Any actual name change would require action by the Senate.
No publicly available information.
The resolution lists specific reasons for asking the Senate to remove Russell's name. It says Russell opposed civil rights, and it cites examples in the resolution text: his 1935 filibuster against an anti-lynching bill; a 1936 campaign statement expressing support for white supremacy; his 1956 role in drafting the Southern Manifesto opposing Brown v. Board of Education; his 1964 boycott of the Democratic National Convention after the Civil Rights Act; a 1964 New York Times report that he proposed a voluntary "racial relocation" program; and a historian's statement that Russell saw white supremacy and segregation as core principles. The resolution also refers to Public Law 115-58, which rejects white nationalism and white supremacy.
No publicly available information in the resolution text about arguments opposing removal. The resolution does note the building was named for Russell by a Senate vote in 1972 (99-1).